1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hand carryable garment bags. More particularly, the present invention relates to folding garment bags which are selectively configurable between an open configuration, an tote configuration and a fully folded configuration.
2. Previous Art
Garment bags include suitbags, suitcases and large handbags. Such garment bags can be heavy and clumsy when carried over long distances. Air travelers who carry garment bags for hundreds of yards between crowded ticketing and boarding areas will often find carrying such garment bags inconvenient.
One type of garment bag folds from an open configuration to a fully folded configuration. In the open configuration, the garment bag lies flat or hangs for packing suits and other clothing into the garment bag or keeping clothing in an unfolded condition. From the open configuration, the garment bag folds into a fully folded configuration for storage and handling. Typically the garment bag has a shoulder strap and handle for carrying the garment bag when the garment bag is in the fully folded configuration. This facilitates in carrying the bag through an airport, for example.
In recent years there has been a significant development to luggage carriers, namely luggage carriers with wheels. Typically at least a pair of wheels attaches to a piece of luggage. Samsonite Inc. has introduced a garment bag which includes a resilient internal frame reinforces the garment bag and biases the garment bag in an open configuration. This type of garment bag can be compressed and folded. From the open configuration, the garment bag can be folded into an tote configuration so that the garment bag can be wheeled and into a fully folded configuration for storage and carrying. In the tote configuration, the wheels can contact and roll along the ground. A hand actuatable latch on a fixed strap holds the two ends of the garment bag together. In this way, the tote configuration is maintained. From the tote configuration, the garment bag can be folded into the fully folded configuration to facilitate carrying. This requires the bag to be compressed. The latch is detached from the end of the bag and reattached at another attachment point such as on a lateral side of the bag. A garment bag in the fully folded configuration is more easily stowed than a bag in an open or tote configuration.
Unfortunately, compressing the garment bag from the tote configuration into the fully folded configuration and vice versa is awkward. This can require physically compressing the garment bag, unlatching the garment bag latch from the tote configuration and relatching the garment bag in the fully folded configuration. Often, a traveler attempts to use both arms to compress the garment bag. Without a free hand, detaching and reattaching the latch is difficult. Alternatively, the garment bag can be wedged against a wall or the floor to free one hand of the traveler. The free hand can then detach and reattach the latch. Repetitively latching and unlatching a garment bag, especially when moving from an airliner, through a crowded air terminal and into ground transportation for example, can be time consuming and awkward. What is desired is a garment bag which conveniently folds to ease transport and storage of the garment bag.
Some garment bags of the past fail to hold a sufficient volume of garments to clothe a week long traveler. These smaller garment bags are light weight even when loaded and do not have sufficient weight to justify providing wheels. The marketplace, however, demands that garment bags have sufficient capacity for a week long traveler. What is desired is a garment bag having a capacity to store the luggage of a week long traveler.
To meet the demands of a week long traveler, large capacity garment bags are provided. Unfortunately, many of the large capacity garment bags are too large in size to fit in an overhead storage bin of a passenger aircraft. These large capacity garment bags are inconvenient for modem air travel. What is desired is a large capacity garment bag which has wheels to ease transport and is configurable to fit in overhead storage bins such as provided in most passenger aircraft.